Cσnfεctισn Cσnfεssισns
by rei-blaze
Summary: Urahara has a new candy experiment. Karin's having fun poking her nose into people's business. Ichigo isn't amused. And, Toushirou has an interesting plan to make Karin realize what she's doing. HitsuKarin, slight IchiRuki
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:** _Bleach and its characters are not mine. Tite Kubo has got all the credit._

**A/N:** _I honestly didn't plan to write another story this soon, but there are just some ideas that would come to you, and wouldn't go away until you'd actually written them, yeah? So 'guess that's the reason why I'm dropping by to give you this._

_I hope you'll have a good time reading!_

**Confection Confessions**

**K**arin squinted her eyes, scrutinizing the rainbow-colored candies that the former shinigami captain and current shop owner had handed her.

"I don't see what's special with these, Urahara-san," she remarked, briefly tearing her gaze away from the sweets to spare the older man a glance, "They look exactly like the ordinary candies."

Urahara grinned behind his trademark fan, ever the carefree and cunning businessman he was. "Ah, but looks can be deceiving most of the times, Karin-san."

Karin raised an inquisitive brow, cuing Urahara to elaborate. Awareness was the best defense when it came to his experiments, she had learned.

"I call them 'Truth Candies'," Urahara said, lowering his fan to reveal the excitement on his face, "They make—if not force—a person to give the most honest answer to any question that anyone would ask. It works as soon the person had taken it, and the effectiveness lasts for an hour per candy."

"Oh yeah?" Karin said, not quite impressed. It wasn't that she didn't believe him,—Urahara had, after all, created a lot of remarkable things that had proven his shrewdness—but she had yet to subject the candies into trial. It wouldn't hurt to be one-hundred per cent certain about the stuffs. "Have you already tried it at someone, Urahara-san?"

"Ah, not yet, but why don't you do the honor of testing it to any person, young lady?" Urahara answered.

"And who might the lucky person be?" Karin asked, sounding interested for the first time.

As if on cue, the red-headed shop assistant entered the scene, carrying a box of merchandise and grumbling about God knows what. Karin grinned as she watched her friend drop the box at the corner of the shop, while Urahara offered her a knowing smile.

"Oi, Hanakari, it's been a while!" Karin greeted, her tone too enthusiastic to be genuine.

On hearing his name, Jinta turned around and opened his mouth in an attempt to reply. But before he could get the chance to say a word, Karin had already beaten him into it by unceremoniously shoving a piece of Truth candy down his throat. He choked, before he had managed to ask, gasping, "W-what was that for, Kurosaki?!"

Karin wasn't fazed on his demanding tone. In fact, a sly smile had just graced her lips. "I've learned that you've been in-like with my twin sister for quite a while now. So what exactly have you liked about her?"

Jinta blinked, looking at Karin like she'd just grown another head. "Are you kidding me, Kurosaki?" he asked, a hint of mockery on his tone. "I thought it's already obvious. I like your twin because she's pretty, sweet and caring. And she has a nice smile, and soft-looking hair, and flawless skin, and perfect curves, and strangely kissable lips." He stopped, looking very satisfied with his answer. But as soon as he had come back to his senses and realized what he had said, his eyes widened in disbelief whereas his face caught up to the color of his hair. "Oh damn! I d-didn't mean to s-s-say t-that!"

"I shall let Ichi-nii know about your perverted thoughts about our sister," Karin said, grimacing and ignoring Jinta's latest claim. Her brother would surely love to hear what Jinta had thought of Yuzu. Not.

"Y-you wouldn't dare! That carrot-top would surely bankai me into pieces!" Jinta exclaimed, horrified at the picture of his eventual death on the hands of a certain orange-haired shinigami.

Unfortunately, Karin didn't seem to care—so much for being a long time friend. She shrugged, saying, "That's the point."

Jinta should have known; Karin wasn't going to save him from her hot-headed of a brother. She would enjoy the idea of having Ichigo run after him, in fact. Hell, she might even bring a bucket of pop corn with her while watching him die hideously.

"B-b-but... It wasn't even my fault in the first place!" Jinta looked around until he saw Urahara watching them in amusement. There his last hope was. The red-head pleaded with his eyes, as if asking the older man for help. "Tenchoo, tell her!"

Far from Jinta's expectation though, Urahara had just looked away, whistling and feigning ignorance. Ah, the traitor.

"Jeez, I was just kidding, man." Karin lightly punched Jinta on the shoulder.

An expression of relief came over the guy. He heaved a sigh before glaring at Karin. "That wasn't funny."

Karin ignored him and walked back to Urahara. Examining the Truth candies one more time, she asked, "Hey, Urahara-san, 'mind if I'd take some of these with me?"

Urahara answered, smiling his laid-back smile, "Be my guest, Karin-san." Slightly tilting his head to the side, he then asked, "But are you returning to Soul Society now?"

"Nuh-uh, not yet," Karin answered offhandedly, "We'll still visit Orihime-chan and Ishida-san, but we're going to make it quick so that we can head back at Soul Society as soon as possible."

"Ah, what a shame. I wouldn't have minded having some coffee and talking with you for a while."

Karin scoffed, believing that he had only said that out of politeness. He didn't sound disappointed at the very least. "Too bad," Karin said, deciding to play along, "the division can't have two of their highest officers missing even just for one day. Actually, make that three of us, knowing Rangiku-san."

"I see," Urahara conceded, "And I bet Hitsugaya-taichou's already bored anyway." He nodded, looking past Karin's shoulder.

At the mention of the young captain's name, Karin whipped around and was met by the sight of none other than Hitsugaya Toushirou himself in a picturesque view. He had been there the whole time, patiently waiting for her. In all of his gigai's glory, he was leaning against the frame of the entrance, his arms were folded in front of his chest like usual, and his eyes were directed outside as if he was in deep thought—he probably was. The scowl was always expected. All in all, he was giving the impression of someone who was totally oblivious to everything around him.

But Karin had been hanging out with him for a decent period of time to learn that he wasn't exactly as nonchalant as he appeared at the moment. He had been aware during the entire conversation at the Urahara Shop, was for sure.

That was proven right when he promptly leaned away from the doorframe, sighing, as Karin neared him. Then without further ado, he told her, "Let's go."

The very moment Toushirou shifted so that they were totally facing each other, Karin stopped taking a step forward and almost gaped, giving Toushirou a once-over. She was suddenly reminded of one irreversible, undeniable fact.

Hitsugaya Toushirou's physical appearance was lethal. End of discussion.

• **нιтѕυкαяιи**** •**** ιcнιяυкι **** • **

**"Y**ou're not seriously going to use that at your brother, are you?" Toushirou wanted to know, scowling at the Truth candies on Karin's hand.

As soon as they'd arrived at Seireitei, Toushirou and Karin had decided to have a quick stroll before going back to their division. Apparently, they'd ended at the Kuchiki's, and seen Ichigo and Rukia sitting together near Byakuya's pond. The playful grins and glares, the half-hearted insults and hits— those simple yet meaningful gestures, that they were giving each other, were already enough for any person to see the obvious thing in between them...

They were in-love.

Her siblings' love lives really weren't any of Karin's business, (so long as it wasn't influencing them horridly, that is) but she was already sick of witnessing her brother lose his guts at every single time he had the chance to confess to the Kuchiki woman. There was a possibility that Rukia was just waiting for Ichigo to make the first move, being the big fan of fairy tales she was. But fat chance that it was going to happen, and Karin just wanted to help.

"I just want to help, Toush," she voiced out her thoughts. "I've got the answer in my hand. Literally, if I may add. So why would I still let this opportunity slip?"

"Karin, what you are doing is prying into people's personal lives," Toushirou pointed out like it wasn't already obvious, "Granted it is your brother this time, but it still isn't right. Let things happen the way they should happen."

Karin gave him a look like he'd just said something very strange. Well, he plausibly had.

"Toushirou-chan, my boy," Karin said, ignoring Toushirou's glare and patting his shoulder—she would have gone to his hair but since he'd already grown taller, she couldn't reach it anymore while they stood together. "It isn't as if I am asking about their darkest, deepest secrets like their criminal records or their sex lives. Besides, last time I checked, you were not the kind of person who would just go with the current. And I also am not. If I see the perfect chance to intervene with Fate, then I'll take advantage of it."

That was true, and even Toushirou knew it. However, Karin still had to do better than that for the young captain wouldn't let her go with such excuse. He narrowed his eyes, looking at Karin as though he knew something that she didn't. "Tell me the truth, Karin," he demanded, crossing his arms, "Do you really just want to help? Because I feel like you have an underlying intention."

Karin froze, looking like a deer caught in the headlight.

"Karin?" Toushirou pressed, raising a brow.

Karin smiled sheepishly. Rubbing the back of her head, she said, "Heh, guilty as charged." Yeah, he had caught her on that. "It's just... Well, I just think it's fun."

"I should have known." Toushirou shook his head. Only Kurosaki Karin would find an enjoyment on things which weren't exactly that fun. Or maybe, her own definition of it was different from his. "And here I thought you've already had an enough dosage of entertainment after embarrassing Ishida in front of Inoue by practically forcing him to say his feelings for her. Not to mention the other random humans who'd also been your victims with those things," he said, pointing at the Truth candies.

Karin huffed. "But I'm helping them, aren't I?" she reasoned out, "Don't worry, Toush, I'm sure Ichi-nii will thank me after this."

While he wasn't the type to just tolerate his best friend's wrong reasoning, Toushirou still was one of the few persons who knew just when to give up arguing to Karin.

"Suit yourself," he grumbled, before walking away.

"Oi!" Karin called out, watching him leave. "Where are you going?"

Without bothering to look back at her, Toushirou answered, "I still have a lot of works in the office, Karin. Come and help me as soon as you're done here. I really can't count on Matsumoto when it comes to those."

"But aren't you going to—" Karin wasn't already able to finish her question as Toushirou had disappeared with a single flash-step. "Seriously..." she muttered, frowning at the space where her best friend had vanished.

"Why did you do that, Rukia?!" Karin suddenly heard Ichigo exclaim. She looked back at where the couple was, just in time to see Rukia jump in the pond, joining Ichigo—Rukia had pushed him there, Karin assumed.

She watched in amusement, as her brother kicked an amount of water towards Rukia's face. Not the type to lose without giving a fight, the Kuchiki woman charged back. Now, Byakuya wouldn't be pleased with the scenario.

Karin, remembering the reason why she wasn't leaving yet, looked at the Truth candies on her hand, then back to the couple.

"I'm only trying to help Ichi-nii," she reminded herself, determination coming over her, then she started walking towards Ichigo and Rukia.

She knew Toushirou really needed her help in the office, but she still had a mission to complete.

And nothing or no one could already stop her.

• **нιтѕυкαяιи • ιcнιяυкι • **

**A/N:** _It was supposed to be a short one-shot, but being the blabber I am, it had got longer than I'd originally expected it to turn out. That said, it's already going to be a two-part fic. I'll try to write the second part as soon as I'd recovered from this colds. ^^_

_I hope you've had fun reading this for now._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** _Sorry and thank you for waiting. Here's the second and last part. Enjoy! :)_

• • •

**"W**hy hello, children," Karin greeted Ichigo and Rukia, and squatted on the edge of the pond, "May I interrupt your fun for a minute?"

The couple paused on wrestling each other in the middle of the pond, and looked at whoever had dared to interrupt their fight—it looked more like a foreplay, actually. On seeing that it was the dark-haired Kurosaki twin, Rukia waved enthusiastically while her other arm was holding Ichigo in a headlock; Ichigo was trying, but epicly failing, to wiggle his way out of it. Rukia indeed was one hell of a shinigami fighter despite her size.

"Hello, Karin-chan!" Rukia greeted back, waving still, "I thought you're in the living world with Hitsugaya-taichou!"

"We just came back," Karin answered, "Anyway, I just want to show you something. Why don't you stop playing for a moment and come here. Both of you, I mean."

Puzzled, Rukia and Ichigo looked at each other. Ichigo shrugged, implying that he also had no idea of what his sister was up to. Without any further question, Rukia did walk to Karin, but not before she pushed Ichigo's head down the water.

"What the hell, midget!" Ichigo sputtered, but the Kuchiki woman just ignored him.

Rukia climbed out of the pond, water dripping from all over her, and sat down next to Karin. Soon, Ichigo, who was equally wet as Rukia was, joined them.

"Yo, Karin. What's up?" Ichigo asked, ruffling his hair in an attempt to dry it quickly.

Instead of saying a word, Karin grinned and opened her palm to reveal the Truth candies.

Ichigo bent down while Rukia leaned close to examine the small, round things on Karin's hand. Confirming that they really were candies, Ichigo arched a brow and looked at his sister. "Don't tell me that you called us just to show those things."

"Okay, I won't tell you that, Ichi-nii," Karin answered, rolling her eyes, "But I'll let you know that I got these from, Urahara-san."

"Soul candies?" Rukia butted in, "Though, they look different."

Before Karin could answer Rukia, Ichigo spoke again, "You really shouldn't play with that man's stuffs, Karin."

Karin stood up, frowning. "I know, I know," she said, then shoved her hand with the candies towards Ichigo. "Take one of these, Ichi-nii."

"What?" Ichigo asked, looking at his sister like she was crazy. Nevertheless, he took one of the candies in between his thumb and index finger. He stared at it, and frowned. "And then? What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Swallow it, Ichi-nii."

"What?! No way! Why would I even want to—"

"Rukia-chan, help me! Hold him!"

"—do that!"

Bewildered, Rukia looked alternately in between the Kurosaki siblings. She tried weighing her dilemma; Karin was her good friend, but Ichigo was... Well, she loved making Ichigo suffer. Grinning at the thought, she said, "Alright."

Rather eagerly, she tackled Ichigo to the ground and looked up at Karin. "What are you planning, Karin-chan?"

"Oi, midget, let me go!" Ichigo cried, fighting Rukia to let him go. But the woman had a strong hold, and to his favor, she hadn't used a bakudo yet.

Karin took advantage of the situation, and immediately put a Truth candy on her brother's mouth while he was shouting at Rukia. For he hadn't noticed what Karin had done, Ichigo accidentally swallowed the Truth candy. He stopped shouting and blinked, waiting for something strange to happen on him.

Nothing came.

Karin grinned. "Thank you, Rukia-chan," she said, holding her thumb up, "You can let go of him now."

Though still beffudled of what Karin was doing, Rukia did what she was told to do and reluctantly get off of Ichigo. She stood, and Ichigo followed suit, feeling his body all-over.

"I am... perfectly fine," he posed as a question.

"Yes, you are, Ichi-nii," Karin answered, still grinning, "But I just want to ask you something."

Ichigo frowned. "Whatever, Karin."

Rukia looked at the dark-haired Kurosaki twin, curiosity on her face.

"So Ichi-nii," Karin began, glancing at Rukia then back to her brother, "Recently, I've noticed that you've been hanging out with Rukia-chan an awful a lot. Yuzu and I suspect that you're doing that because you're in-love with her. We're not exactly sure though." Of course, it was a deliberate falsehood. The Kurosaki twins were one-hundred per cent certain that their brother was head over heels for the Kuchiki woman. "What can you say about that, Ichi-nii? You love Rukia-chan, don't you?"

Rukia looked at Ichigo, wide-eyed, slack-jawed. Ichigo just crossed his arms. On first impression, anyone would think that he was going to say that her sister was being paranoid and didn't know what she was saying, but then, the orange-haired man said, "And what makes you think that I don't love her? Of course, I do. I've always wanted her to become my girlfriend, but I just always lose the nerve before I can even ask her."

That was enough for Karin to hear. She didn't already need to witness everything. Without waiting for Rukia's reaction, Karin turned around and walked away from them.

She'd done her part, and it was already up to Ichigo and Rukia to settle the rest.

• **нιтѕυкαяιи • ιcнιяυкι •**

**"S**o I'll take it that my plan didn't go that well, huh?" Karin asked as she stared at her brother who obviously had been waiting for her in the main entrance of Tenth Division barracks.

Leaning away from the sliding door, Ichigo muttered, "She punched me." He sighed, scratching the back of his neck—a mannerism that he had never learned to outgrow. "Rukia punched me after you left."

Guilt suddenly came over Karin. To be fair, she had never thought that Rukia was going to react that way. Given the Kuchiki woman was sort of crude, what she'd done, after the guy she liked had confessed to her, was still beyond Karin's expectations.

"I'm err... Sorry," Karin apologized, unsure of what else to say, "I didn't—"

"And then she told me to do it again," Ichigo cut in.

Karin blinked. "Eh?"

"She told me that if I am going to confess my feelings for her, I should tell it directly to her. She said that I should do that with all my heart, and not as if the words are just coming out of my nose. And then, she made me do it multiple times and didn't stop until she was satisfied!" Ichigo exclaimed. "Can you believe her, Karin?! How dare she do that to me?!"

Karin didn't say anything; not that she knew what to say. She just gaped at her brother, trying to grasp everything he'd said.

"Oi, are you even listening to me?" Ichigo asked, his voice calmer than earlier.

After the shock had worn off, Karin finally found her voice.

"So... in the end..." she said slowly, prodding Ichigo to cut to the chase.

"Yeah, your plan had worked in the end. We're finally together," Ichigo said, his face back to its nature.

A smile formed on Karin's lips for a moment, but it gradually slid off when she noticed that her brother wasn't pleased as she'd anticipated him to be. She crossed her arms, looking pointedly at him. "You don't look like you're happy about it, though."

"I'm happy about it," Ichigo answered defensively, "But you should already stop whatever you're doing, Karin."

Karin scoffed. "Aren't you supposed to thank me, Ichi-nii? I helped you with Rukia-chan, didn't I?"

"Do you know that Hisagi is currently hiding from Rangiku-san?" Ichigo asked instead, "He can't face her right now, because of what you made him say yesterday. You do remember it, don't you, Karin?"

Recalling the incident, Karin grinned sheepishly. How could she forget that? A very straightforward confession from the Ninth Division Lieutenant; his fantasies about the strawberry blonde lieutenant of Tenth Division, his desire to get it on with her. Well, yeah, that was sort of—totally—embarrassing. Karin had never thought that Hisagi had it in him.

"That was just an unfortunate incident, Ichi-nii," Karin said, shrugging, "Jeez, and why are you so ungrateful? I just wanna help those people who don't have the courage to say the things that they want to say. Is that wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong with your intention, Karin. But people actually don't like it when they're forced to say the things that they're not ready to say yet. And how are you sure that they actually want to reveal it, in the first place?"

Karin just huffed since she didn't have any counter-argument on that, while Ichigo continued, "Would you also like it if someone forces you to reveal the fact that you're practically in-love with Toushirou?"

"W-w-what?!" Karin shouted, the color of her face making a ripe tomato look pale. "I-I-I am n-not in-love with him!"

But Ichigo ignored her. "Not that I am in favor of the idea of you and Toushirou, though no one can deny the fact that you make an amazing combination. But that's besides the point. What I am trying to say is... Karin, you should stop this meddling before everything would come back and bite you," he warned before he walked past his sister.

Frowning, Karin turned around and watched her brother walk away. "Just what's wrong with people recently, being so touchy and all?"

She shrugged. Oh well, she might as well go to Toushirou since she'd been busy 'having fun' yesterday and hadn't been able to help him with the works.

• **нιтѕυкαяιи • ιcнιяυкι •**

**J**ust as she entered the administrative office, Karin almost jumped, caught off guard by Rangiku's scream.

"You, young woman!" The strawberry blonde woman pointed an accusing finger at Karin.

"What about me?! What did I do now?!" Karin asked hastily, her voice as loud as Rangiku's.

"You scared my drinking buddy away! I won't get any drink today, so what's gonna happen to me now?!"

Karin knew Rangiku wasn't exactly that mad (or dissapointed, to say the least). The tenth lieutenant was just really exaggerated sometimes.

"I didn't mean to do that, Rangiku-san!"

"Will both of you tone down your voices?!"

Karin and Rangiku simultaneously turned to the source of the third voice and saw a very annoyed Toushirou on his chair, glaring at them. "I am working, in case you don't notice. If you want to stay here but don't have any plan to help, then I'd appreciate if you'd at least keep your voices low."

Karin regarded him for a moment, before she grinned. "Relax, Toush, you'll age fast with the way you're acting."

Toushirou directed his glare solely on Karin, whereas Rangiku giggled. "Jeez, it's always entertaining to watch you flirt with each other."

"We're not flirting!" Toushirou and Karin shouted at the same time.

Rangiku held up her hands in a mock surrender. "Whatever, sweethearts," she said, walking for the door.

"Leaving already?" Karin asked, following the older woman with her gaze.

With a wide grin on her face, Rangiku looked over her shoulder and said, "You don't want me staying here, in case you decide to jump each other." She winked and stepped out of the office, laughing at her own joke.

"Stupid." Karin heard Toushirou grumble. She walked over the couch and sat down, eyes fixed on her best friend who had gone back on doing the paper works. Remembering her Ichi-nii's words about her, being practically in-love with Toushirou, Karin suddenly blushed. She shook her head as if that would help to rid herself from the thought.

"And why, in the world, are you doing a head-bang, woman? Had you totally lost your mind now?"

It was Karin's turn to glare at her best friend, but Toushirou's eyes didn't meet that evil look since they were casted down at the papers. Karin would never understand how he could be so attentive to everything around him, even if he appeared like he was very focused on doing something.

"Shut up, geezer." She leaned back to the couch. "So what's up?"

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"

Karin snorted. Typical Toushirou.

She closed her eyes and tilted her head skywards. She stayed like that, until she heard a shuffling of the chair and soft footfalls. Opening her eyes, she saw Toushirou disappearing to the door that connected the office and a small kitchen.

Karin stared at said door, waiting for Toushirou to come back. When he did, he already had a cup of tea on each hand, and Karin was surprised when he offered her one.

"Uh, thanks?" she said, uncertain, accepting the tea.

That was odd. Karin was convinced that Toushirou knew about what she'd done, regarding the Truth candies, and she was at least expecting him to scold her about that. Instead, he was acting nice today—not that he was never nice. It was just so out of the ordinary.

Karin decided to just shrug it off. Toushirou was just really unpredictable most of the times. Besides, he wasn't chewing her head off, so who was she to complain?

She took a sip of her tea, as Toushirou settled himself on the seat across her. Keeping the brim apart from her lips, Karin sighed in appreciation. Just what she needed; a nice tea to relax.

"I've heard a funny story that you like a guy. Is he a shinigami officer?" Toushirou asked out of the blue.

"Uh-huh, and a high-ranking one at that," Karin answered, without even glancing at him.

Realizing what she had just blurted out, she froze. She stared, wide-eyed, at her dim reflection on the tea. As though in suspense, she looked up at Toushirou, only to see him smirking at her.

"You..." Karin said, almost inaudible. "You dissolved a Truth candy on my tea."

"Congratulations, you got it," Toushirou taunted, "Though, it wasn't exactly a Truth candy. It was a Truth liquid that Hinamori and your sister got from the Twelfth Division. How they convinced Kurotsuchi-taichou to make it for them is still beyond my comprehension, but why would I still bother to know?"

Karin dropped her cup. She wasn't sure what Toushirou was up to, but she knew that she already needed to get out of the room. If the Truth liquid worked like the Truth candy, then all she had to do was to avoid anyone for at least an hour. She had to stay away as soon as possible.

So, run for the door, she did. Unfortunately, as she tried to slide the door, she realized that it wouldn't open. Karin looked up and down at the door, trying to figure out what was wrong. Her jaw dropped when she felt Toushirou's reiatsu on it.

But why hadn't she noticed it earlier? And Rangiku had been able to open it, right? Did it mean it was part of the plan all along?

"Fuck," Karin blurted out, looking back at Toushirou, who was obviously regaled on watching her have a hard time.

Everything had been carefully planned. Toushirou was good alright,—screw that, he was damn great,—but it wasn't the perfect time to commend him for that. He must have a serious reason for carrying out this plan, if he would even go to the extent of using a kekkai on the door.

"What the hell, Toush. Why are you doing this?"

Toushirou stood up. "Payback," he said simply.

"P-p-payback?!" She asked incredulously. "What the fucking hell do you mean?! What did I do to deserve this payback from you?!"

Crossing his arms, Toushirou explained, "Hinamori and your sister were here earlier. Aren't you even wondering why they asked the twelfth division captain to create the Truth liquid for them?"

"No, not really."

"They used it on me, Karin," Toushirou said, smiling tightly.

Karin frowned. "I don't get it. If they were the ones who did that to you, then why are you making your revenge on me? It's not fair!"

"Oh, but it's fair," Toushirou answered, "Because when I asked them why they did it, they told me that they believed that I was conspiring with you, and they were just getting even for what you did to the read-head from the shop and the guy who was courting Hinamori. They got their revenge from me, Karin, so it's just fair if I get my revenge from you. After all, you're the one who started the whole thing. So why don't you relax for a moment and have a taste of your own medicine?"

Karin gulped. She really didn't have a say on that. "L-look, Toush, c-can we just forget about it? I promise I'm already going to stop!"

Smirking, Toushirou answered, "Too bad, Karin, I am interested to learn more about the guy you like."

Karin's eyes widened. Oh no, not that one.

"So he's a high-ranking shinigami, huh? What's the first kanji of his given name?"

Karin bit her bottom lip, trying to refrain herself from uttering a single syllable. But her attempt ended up in vain, as her lips trembled and a faint, "Tou," escaped from her mouth.

Toushirou hummed thoughtfully. "Interesting. And what's the second kanji of his given name?"

This time, Karin covered her mouth with her hand. She was relieved when her answer came out as a muffled sound. But her relief didn't last long when she saw Toushirou slowly walking towards her, a smirk fixed on his feature.

Karin stepped back. Briefly, she took her hand off of her lips just to shout at him, "This is not funny, Toushirou!" Then, she immediately covered them again before Toushirou could ask her another question.

"Oh yeah?" Toushirou blinked and slightly tilted his head to the side, resembling a curious child. Had it not been for their current situation, Karin would find him really cute with such gesture. But for now, she only saw him as an evil monster.

"That's not what I remember you said yesterday, Karin."

She narrowed her eyes at him, hand still covering her mouth. Toushirou continued advancing towards her. She took another step back, then groaned as she felt her back hit the wall. It looked like she had run out of luck.

Stopping a foot away from her, Toushirou slyly smiled. He gently tugged on Karin's wrist and took her hand away from her mouth; Karin struggled but Toushirou was obviously stronger than her. It was so unfair.

To make things worse for her, Toushirou held her other wrist, pinning both of her hands on either side of her head.

"Now, shall we carry on from where we left?" he teased.

Karin glared. "I am going to kill you after this, Toushirou."

Undaunted by the woman's threat, Toushirou said, "So the first kanji of his given name is 'Tou.' What's the second kanji?"

"Shi." Karin gnashed. "I'm gonna burn you with Honoozuki until no one can already recognize you, have your head into a stick and roast it!"

If Toushirou was really that interested to know who the guy was, why wouldn't he just ask his whole name and get over it once and for all? But the way the tenth division captain was acting, it looked like he already knew who it was and he only wanted to hear it directly from Karin.

And what was the punch? He would get the answer, bit by bit, following the slow and painful method. Hitsugaya Toushirou indeed was an evil. Gorgeous yes, but still an evil.

He chuckled, amused by Karin's threats. The hell. It was supposed to intimidate not to entertain him!

"And what's the color of his eyes?" Obviously, Toushirou still didn't want to end the game. He leaned close to Karin's face, making her feel more uncomfortable.

Karin stared back at his eyes, face starting to feel warm.

"They're naturally turquoise." The words didn't feel like they were forced anymore. It was as if Karin was answering according to her conscious choice. "But they often change from one shade of green to another, depending on his emotions."

Toushirou looked at her with great intensity, his eyes darkening on every second. The playful expression had already slid off of his face. "What do you feel right now?"

Likewise, Karin's previous annoyance was suddenly replaced by something akin to excitement. "Tempted."

"To what?"

"To kiss you."

Just as she finished with the last word, Toushirou's lips crashed down on hers. He let go of her hands, moving an arm down to wrap around her waist. His other hand messed with her dark locks.

Karin was lost as Toushirou's lips moved against hers to deepen the kiss. It suddenly occured to her that she wasn't reacting yet, and was just letting Toushirou do all the works. Not the type to be dominated, she quickly hooked her arms around his neck and started responding to the kiss, with eagerness as Toushirou's.

Karin felt him nibbling her bottom lip, then he was already showering her face with feather kisses. Contented, Karin sighed. Toushirou pecked her lips one last time, before he pulled away, smiling.

Catching her breath, Karin said, "I hate you."

"Sure, you do," Toushirou murmured, kissing Karin's nose. "You should fix the mess that you had caused to other people, Karin. Apologize to them, I mean."

"Are you also gonna apologize to me then?" asked Karin.

"Nuh-uh," Toushirou answered. When he noticed Karin's scowl, he smiled. "How about a dinner tonight?"

"Fair enough."

"That's settled then," Toushirou said, grinning, "Now if you don't mind, we still have some works to do."

"You can already go back to work if you want," Karin answered, sticking her tongue out.

Toushirou smirked, his eyes twinkling in amusement. "But how will I work if all your limbs are still snaking around me?"

Confused, Karin blinked. Sure, her arms were still around his neck but her legs hadn't moved a bit since the kiss. Or had they?

She looked down, then blushed furiously, realizing that her legs indeed were around Toushirou's hips. Since when had they been on that position?

Hearing Toushirou snicker, Karin immediately jumped off of him, and huffed. "I really hate you."

Toushirou just shrugged, then turned to walk for his table. He had taken only two steps when he stopped and asked, "So how was the kiss, Karin?"

"How am I supposed to know? All I can only think is that I wanna do it again."

Toushirou walked away, chuckling, as Karin groaned.

Stupid Truth stuffs.

• • •

**A/N:** _Hah, I got carried away so it turned out this long. I hope you had fun reading as much as I had fun writing this! :3_


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